rolling Afropop / Afrobeats / Afrodance 2019

(not sure about that remix, I think both versions on Spotify are actually the same, but Marioo is credited on the most recent one only. he’s not in the vid though, that’s for sure)

Ghana update:

GuiltyBeatz ft. Mr Eazi & Kwesi Arthur • Pilolo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzfAuw_zu6s (the *actual* follow-up to “Akwaaba”)

A-Star • Balaya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSYi_JkTJmU (his “Kupe Dance” was one of last year’s biggest Afropop hits, although it was never posted here. I like this one better)

FOKN Bois ft. Medikal • Wo Nim Mi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsmM4PXMANk (FOKN Bois is the side project of rappers M3NSA and Wanlov the Kubolor. This is from their new album Afrobeats LOL)

a star track is so great

There’s a video for Zlatan x Burna’s “Killin’ Dem” (just as well, cause the link upthread went dead):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EfSs6-Pxx8

At once very 80s housey and very recognisably 2018-19 SA clubby, I love it:

Kwiish SA ft. C’Buda, Macfowlen & Vukani • Iskhathi

(This is the vocal mix, the instrumental ‘Main’ mix seems unexplicably to be more popular in South Africa)

Ha yeah Spottie, I agree!

xxp

Another Ghanian hit — Pappy Kojo ft. Joey B & Nshorna • Balance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyKqdS9l2uc

(it features legendary azonto producer Nsho(r)na a/k/a Krynkman a/k/a Amadaa, who only raps here and puts in a little shout-out to “Obuu Mo”, the 2011 E.L classic he produced)

High-level Naija collabos:

Patoranking ft. Davido • Confirm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR6anPLRv6g
(never realized their voices are that similar)

D’banj & 2Baba • Baecation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=h-XMvzgi0eE
(imagine how big this would have been ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-XMvzgi0eE

GuiltyBeatz at it again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32HG5UYPs1w
Ms Banks ft. Kida Kudz • Snack

(location: exactly halfway between the UK and West Africa)

(Note: this beat is guilty of resembling the one Samklef made for Wizzy’s “Don’t Dull” - this is not a crime)

Juls at it again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of8zdBPIWlI
Zlatan ft. Damibliz, Worlasi & Juls • Kokosa

(location: exactly halfway between Ghana and Nigeria)

R2Bees have a new album out (only their third in ten years!), called Site 15. I posted their collaboration with Burna Boy on the Burna thread. This is a new track with their buddy Wizkid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6j5Y3DuSvc

R2Bees ft. Wizkid • Straight From Mars

The new Olamide hit with Killertunes producing is... pretty good, I guess, but Young John has done this type of joint for Baddo more than once before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOCrMPxgWqo

Olamide • Woske

All of the above are fine and dandy, but this... is the fucking best!!! (or is it my current South African bias?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGVP1HcXQhA

MFR Souls feat. TallArseTee • Bamb’ikhanda

Also: epic party video

(Their earlier track “Glory” is more conventional soulful house, but also very good)

So Babes Wodumo livestreamed Mampintsha beating her up on IG, and it’s pretty terrible. DJ Tira just released a statement supporting her wholeheartedly.

Re Mmino, the new Prince Kaybee album is out. With just six new tracks besides the three singles, it’s not overly generous. The new tracks are solid (with the exception of “AfroTech Thursday”, a real dud imo), but there’s nothing nearly as epic and groundbreaking (and just plain banging) as “Club Controller” or “Banomoya”. I think this is my favourite of the new tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8M2qEonOzE

Prince Kaybee ft. Holly Rey • Yes You Do

ANGOLAN AFRO-HOUSE/KUDURO SPECIAL:

Nerú Americano and Os Santiegos (remember “Sem Maldades”?) have teamed up again (as, yes, you could have almost guessed it, “O Team”) for a mini album of six slamming tracks. I love all the ass action in the official video for lead track “Sim”, but the military roleplay is too triggering (literally, and especially now) to post it without a warning, so here’s a TV performance of it instead:

O Team • Sim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXbkmravNg4


The “Sem Maldades” producer releases a track of his own:

DJ Vado Poster ft. Ed Sangria • Peso: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TS0H65B3Aw

(oh, you enjoyed that TV performance? Here’s another one!)


From last year, also produced by DJ Vado Poster (some amazing dancing in this video):

Cadu Fashion & Mr Brazuca • Andamento: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNSve4vp7AI


Two that are more informed by trap:

Preto Show ft. Teo No Beat • 150 BPM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tst_QFcQAq4

DJ Nelasta ft. Titica & Paulelson • Tonga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRkL28SzBOk


And finally, an oldie, from 2014:

Staff Paulo ft. Gaia Beat & DJ Ricardo Orange • Sapelemé: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEp9ktHV6Sg

Wed. March 27 - Mr. Eazi at the Fillmore in Silver Spring, Md near Washington DC. Maybe I will go

Great track from Ghana (Naija references notwithstanding):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kBC94pjDYg

RJZ & DarkoVibes ft. Magnom & Nana Benyin • Zanku

”This is not a music video... It’s all fun & games
now LETS ZANKU!!!”

I guess, and it’s also just one minute long. Here’s the full track.

Reminder: we can all help make ILM a less boring place by posting cool music and interesting content!

important public service announcement there!
Zanku is quite good.

X-post- Mr. Eazi dc area gig postponed till April 25

X-post- Mr. Eazi dc area gig postponed till April 25

Visa issues he said in a social media post

just head 'straight from mars' by r2bees & wizkid. so subtle and great.
thanks so much breastcrawl for all the amazing music you've been posting.

Happy to hear that, Nourry! Makes me feel less like some kind of Theresa May, stubbornly trying to push through something nobody is really interested in.

FYI: There’s a duet between Wizkid and Teni coming up that’s also super smooth and subtle from what I’ve heard of it (I don’t have access to the link right now).


The thing is though, I’m only scratching the surface. I wish others would share and discuss their favourites and discoveries here as well, so we would get a bigger picture, and it would become less of a I’m-Listening-To-This-Music-So-You-Don’t-Have-To kind of thing, but maybe that’s too much to ask of ILM in its current state.

I love ILM, but it’s lost a lot of its lustre with so many posters becoming less active or simply disappearing. (Did they migrate to greener pastures, and if so where might these be?).
Retro is the default mode more than ever before. It’s mainly old music that brings all the boys/girls to the threads, and while that’s fine in and of itself, I’d so much rather talk and read about the exciting music I’m listening to now (which does include new-to-me old school African pop tbh) than about music I found thrilling back in the day and only listen to occasionally these days.

Anyway, end of lament. There’s lots of great new stuff to post, but I’m in a YouTube-unfriendly part of the world right now. I might post some Spotify links instead soon, if it’s alright with you folks.

Your lost-lustre lament is exactly how I started to feel about ilm about two years ago (iirc). I think I've mostly stopped feeling bad about it, though sometimes the 180-degree disparity between the general drift of recent discourse and how the ilm I first discovered would have reacted is kind of stunning. I've been absent itt because I haven't been listening to much in this vein, but that's partially because there's been a slew of good to great albums/EPs out (Solange, DAWN, Koffee, Christian Scott, Comet Is Coming, etc).

Anyway, I really came to post this Eugy "Lolo" I just listened to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viLHv8IkcDM

I was enjoying this Kranium song Mind Blown which turns out to be the same (Young John) production as this:

Kizz Daniel, "Fvck You"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGGu65glWpU

Both versions are pretty great imo

I’ve felt this way before too (pretty sure I’ve complained about it once or twice as well) and I actually quit posting for months on end two times because of the lack of feedback. I guess this time it’s the post-EOY blues in large part (you know, with everyone going “Wow, who knew this music was that fantastic. Guess I will start following the Afropop thread now!”, and then, as usual, nothing happens. Nabozo predicted it, I guess I should have seen it coming lol)

But back to the music: I really like the Eugy, hadn’t come around to playing it yet. Especially like that it’s produced by Spanker, further proof of the upsurge of Dutch urban music.

I have mixed feelings about “Fvck You”. ‘Good guy’ Kizz is showing his misogynistic side more and more, and I don’t like it. However: am I reading you right and did Young John produce a track for Kranium? That would be interesting. It’s not on Spotify, so I can’t check.

Oh I didn’t catch barely any of the lyrics on the Kizz, that’s a shame. The Kranium is called Mind Blown and it’s on Spotify in Canada anyway. It’s the same music as Fvck exactly, just different vocals

I did think it was odd that the dude who sang Mama was putting out a song called Fvck You, but I haven’t paid much attention to him since that album

Both versions are good but, yeah, no reason for Kizz Daniel of all people to go there, so I'll probably be playing the Kranium version way more. Is this a general tendency in recent Nigerian pop music or is it just a case of Kizz Daniel trying to rebrand himself as edgy?

I think it’s on Kizz, really. He’s been sexing up his image ever since “Sofa”, two years ago now. However, he could be setting a trend with the video for his recent smash “Madu”, which is very steamy for Nigerian standards. (it has some lyrical raunch as well).

(you’ll have to look up the video yourselves, all I can do is post the Spotify link.

It’s not nearly the best track on his album though, that would be the similarly titled “Maye”, even though that’s another golddigger-bashing song.

oh yeah I do remember "Sofa," I think I liked that one. Lol I forgot he called his album No Bad Songz. In defiance of that title, I didn't get very far into it the one time I tried to listen, but "Maye" bumps. ("Madu" is dull imo.)

But I relistened to "Fvck You" and I still can barely discern what he's singing about, so I think I'm okay with it--all praise to Young John most likely. Also, on the Kranium version he says he calls his dick "Jehovah Thickness", which is hilarious but I'm not sure his version is a lyrical safe haven :)

Especially like that it’s produced by Spanker, further proof of the upsurge of Dutch urban music.

btw, breastcrawl, could you expand on this? I don't know who Spanker is or what the Dutch connection is.

“Jehovah Thickness” is A+

“Fvck You” is about a girl he was seeing who turned out to be an ‘ashawo’ (=slut); the chorus is basically him listing all the colleagues (you might recognize some names) who fucked her apart from him. He feels betrayed, the poor thing.

It does look like Kranium paid a little work visit to Naija. He and Kizz are both on the track “Send Her Money” on the Olamide-supervised YBNL MaFia Family album that dropped late December, and Young John is affiliated with that label too, so it makes sense.

Spanker is one of the biggest producers within the Dutch urban scene, which has basically taken over the Dutch music industry in the past five years or so. Afro vibes are a non-negligible part of this.

I should add: some of these producers are making waves internationally too (this does include working with/for Diplo/Major Lazer). I’ve mentioned it elsewhere, but one of last year’s biggest latin hits, “X” by Nicky Jam and J Balvin, was produced by Dutch producer duo Afro Bros.

dang I kind of wish you hadn't spelled out those Kizz lyrics. I had noticed some famous names but didn't get why he was saying them--in fact it sounds more like he's dissing them if you don't know what's going on...oh well, 2016 already feels like a special moment in naija pop that I have nostalgia for, so I guess I can add "that was when Kiss Daniel wasn't a dickhead" to the list of reasons why.

interesting stuff about the Dutch scene, thanks!

Also, on further listens I really really like "LoLo." It's so airy and sprightly, it reminds me of "Ghana Bounce"...just don't tell me what it's about lol

There is, fyi, also a "clean version" of Fvck You on Spotify. I can't make out what he's saying there either, but I'll stick to it.

xp

Sorry about that, rob! Realized I should have added a spoiler alert after I posted it lol.

in fact it sounds more like he's dissing them if you don't know what's going on

As promised, some current faves - with their Spotify links, as I’m in a YouTube-less part of the world.

First up, seven smooth tracks with trademark Naija sweetness:

A) Fireboy DML • Jealous (an absolute beauty, originally on the YBNL MaFia Family album - and plugged in Olamide’s “Woske” video posted upthread) Spotify link

B) Tee Y Mix ft. Teni • Bilo (it’s Teni, baby, need I say more? Oh yeah: duet with Wizkid upcoming) Spotify link

C) Skiibii ft. Reekado Banks • Sensima (posted last year, but still in the mix, this song won’t quit!) Spotify link

D) Oxlade • Shugar (bringing that sweetness!) Spotify link

E) Reekado Banks • Maria (exquisite, produced by Young John) Spotify link

F) Iyanya ft. Duncan Mighty • Halle Spotify link

(Iyanya “celebrated” this (very good) sort-of comeback single by coming clean about his partnership with label boss Ubi Franklin. It’s yet another story of complete dysfunctionality in the Naija music industry.

G) Rema • Dumebi (new signing on Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records) Spotify link

Two more:

H) DJ Prince ft. Olamide & Phyno • Piom Piom (highlife pop alert!) Spotify link

I) IBK Spaceshipboi ft. Always Good (?), Waje & Praiz • Because Of You (possible Alté alert! loving this vibe) Spotify link

Legwork and other street and/or dancefloor stuff, times four:

J) Reminisce • Oja (produced by Sarz) Spotify link

K) Lil Kesh ft. Fireboy • Le Le Yi (another track of the YBNL MaFia Family album; can’t check, but this sounds like a Sarz production as well) Spotify link

L) Qdot • Koshi Danu (follow-up to “Gbese”, it’s another good one) Spotify link

M) DJ Xclusive ft. Zlatan Ibile • Gbomo Gbomo (another Rexxie joint) Spotify link

All of course to be found on this Spotify playlist: ILM rolling Afropop / Afrobeats / Afrodance 2019

epic post, breastcrawl, wow. To quickly clarify: I by no means think it's all been downhill since 2016--last year was huge!--it was just packed with personal favorites (some actually from 2015...really the whole "good year/bad year" thing is a little silly).

oh my god "Jealousy" is sooo good, thank you

sorry "Jealousy"

pretty obsessed
lil frosh / small doctor "firi yahoo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4VFJDVywak

^^^ You found my Exhibit N!